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The Good Samaritan Society is putting out a call for volunteers for an upcoming Red Cross blood drive in honor of National Blood Donor Month on January 25th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Good Samaritan Society currently has eight volunteers, with a goal of reaching 15.
The call for volunteers comes as the Red Cross announces an emergency blood shortage throughout the United States, potentially leading to delays in medical procedures for Americans.
According to the Red Cross, the number of people donating blood in the U.S. has reached its lowest level in 20 years, with donation numbers falling by 40% over the past two decades.
The organization now says that hospitals no longer have the supply of blood needed to meet patient needs. Data from the national organization America’s Blood Centers shows that at least 17 community blood centers have a one-day supply or less to supply patients with.
The Red Cross’s most recent donation drive, which occurred the week between Christmas and New Year’s saw a donation shortfall of nearly 7,000 units.
“Now, getting out of the holidays and looking at what hospital demand is starting to look like, we can see that we need about 8,000 additional donations every week in January in order to shore up supply,” Dr. Eric Gehrie, executive physician director for the Red Cross.
One unit of blood, or roughly one pint, is typically collected during donations. Experts estimate that a single car accident victim can require upwards of 100 units of blood.
In September, the Red Cross announced its first national shortage of blood while calling for more donations, leading to a slight inventory rebound. However, the national supply of blood has once again fallen across the country, leading the organization to put a limit on distributions of O blood products – the most transfused blood types – to hospitals.
“When the Red Cross is trying to determine how much blood is needed to supply hospitals, it takes into account seasonal changes – and there certainly are a lot of seasonal changes that occur around the holidays,” Gehrie said. “One thing that is very different this time around is that hospital demand, even in the lower-utilization holiday period, has been greater than it has been in previous years. And the lower donations, as a result of the seasonal figure, combined with the unexpectedly higher demand from hospitals, is what’s really contributing to the emergency that we have presently.”
The Red Cross is now calling on healthcare workers and members of the public to donate blood to resupply the nation’s ailing stock of blood, specifically platelets and red blood cells.
In August, the Red Cross announced that more gay men could begin giving blood after the organization implemented a more “inclusive risk-based individual assessment to determine whether someone is eligible to give blood, regardless of sexual orientation, sex or gender.” Prior to the change, gay and bisexual men were banned from donating blood.
If you would like to volunteer to be a donor this month, please contact the Good Samaritan Society at 870-508-6051.
